Concerned over the stand-off between India and Pakistan cricket boards over the Asia Cup and its implications for the coming World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has swung into action.
ICC chairman Greg Barclay and CEO Geoff Allardice will reach Lahore on Tuesday on a two-day visit to speak to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi and sort out the impasse. The World Cup fixtures will be announced in London during the World Test Championship final, beginning June 7.
The ICC has termed their tour as a “scheduled member visit” but sources confirmed to The Telegraph that Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup and their unwillingness to play in certain cities in India will dominate the agenda.
The ICC chairman and CEO could also speak to government officials to gauge their mood and try and convince them to tour India. Barclay will be the first ICC chairman to tour Pakistan since Ray Mali in 2008.
Pakistan aren’t keen to play in Ahmedabad and has threatened to not tour India. “Since India has refused to come to Pakistan, we will also follow a reciprocal arrangement and play the World Cup at a neutral venue. The PCB has to work within that framework,” Sethi told The Telegraph earlier this month.
The ICC’s new revenue generation model will also come up for discussion since Pakistan has made its unhappiness over the distribution formula clear.
India reportedly would claim 38.5 per cent, while England and Australia would pocket 6.89 per cent and 6.25 per cent, respectively. Pakistan stands to earn 5.75 per cent of the ICC’s projected earnings.
The uncertainty over the Asia Cup continued with the BCCI reaching a consensus during their deliberations with Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh cricket Boards in Ahmedabad, that the tournament should be held at only one venue — Sri Lanka. The PCB’s recommendation of a ‘hybrid model’ wherein 4/5 matches would be held in Pakistan while the rest, including all India matches, take place in Dubai has been categorically rejected.
Murmurs of logistical problems for the hybrid model have been dismissed by Pakistan. “When the 2011 World Cup was held in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, no logistical issues surfaced. How come only the Asia Cup is being singled out? The T20 World Cup next year will also be held in the West Indies and the US,” a PCB source argued.
With PCB, the designated hosts, unable to garner support for the hybrid model, it could result in an Asia Cup without Pakistan or else Sethi has to agree to play in Sri Lanka.